Head to head

Blacksmith vs GitHub Actions: prices, plans and limits (Nov 2026)

Blacksmith and GitHub Actions side by side for ci runners: 15 terms differ. Every value links to the provider's own page.

CI runners

Blacksmith vs GitHub Actions: prices, plans and limits (Nov 2026): CI runners
Term	Blacksmith	GitHub Actions
Lowest price	$0.0025 /minblacksmith-2vcpu-ubuntu-2404-arm	$0.002 /minubuntu-slim
5-min job	≥ $0.02Linux x64, 2 vCPU · rank 8 of 16	$0.03Linux x64, 2 vCPU · rank 13 of 16
Billed	unknownmetered: usage billed afterwards	Per minutemetered: usage billed afterwards
Sizes	17 sizesLinux, Windows, macOS · 2–32 vCPU	36 sizesLinux, Windows, macOS · 1–96 vCPU
PaymentBilling	Metered: usage billed afterwards[1]	Metered: usage billed afterwards[2]
Plan minimumBilling	None[1]	None[2]
Billing incrementBilling	unknown[1]	Per minute (rounded up)[2]
Minimum chargeBilling	unknown[1]	60 s[2]
Per-job feeBilling	None[1]	None[2]
vCPULimits	unknown[3]	unknown[4]
Concurrent jobsLimits	Unlimited[3]	20[4]
Max job lengthLimits	unknown[3]	6 h[4]
Setup billedSetup	unknown[3]	No[4]
Billed setup per jobSetup	unknown[3]	0 s[4]
CI systemsPlatform	GitHub Actions[5]	GitHub Actions[6]
HostingPlatform	Managed[5]	Managed[6]
RegionsPlatform	us-east, us-west, eu-west, eu-central[5]	unknown[6]
Minutes a monthFree allowance	3,000[5]	None[7]
Credit a monthFree allowance	None[5]	$12[7]
One-time creditFree allowance	None[5]	None[7]
IncludedCache	25 GB[1]	10 GB[7]
Extra storageCache	$0.5 per GB-month[1]	$0.07 per GB-month[7]
Docker layer cacheCache	Yes[1]	No[7]
Persistent disksCache	Yes[1]	No[7]
SSH debuggingFeatures	Yes[8]	No[9]
Static IPsFeatures	Yes[8]	Yes[9]
GPU runnersFeatures	No[8]	Yes[9]
SOC 2Features	Yes[8]	Yes[9]

Terms that are the same for both are greyed. Unknown = not published; hover for where we looked. Method

GitHub Actions: plans and limits
Plan	Fee	At once	Included	Max job	Largest	Includes
Free	Free[10]	20	$12	–	–	$12 of Actions compute a month (pricing page: 2,000 CI/CD minutes), 500 MB artifact storage, 20 concurrent jobs on standard runners
Pro	$4 /month[11]	40	$18	–	–	Personal accounts: $18 of Actions compute a month, 1 GB artifact storage, 40 concurrent jobs on standard runners
Team	$4 per user /month[10]	60	$18	–	–	$18 of Actions compute a month (pricing page: 3,000 CI/CD minutes), 2 GB artifact storage, 60 concurrent jobs on standard runners, larger runners (1,000 concurrent jobs)
Enterprise	$21 per user /month[10]	500	$300	–	–	Enterprise Cloud: $300 of Actions compute a month (pricing page: 50,000 CI/CD minutes), 50 GB artifact storage, 500 concurrent jobs on standard runners, larger runners, static IPs for larger runners